Office Manager

The Hiring Advisors is currently partnering with a venture-backed high-growth deep-tech & defense hardware startup in the Hawthorne area to find an unstoppable Operations Lead / Operational Right-Hand to report directly to the CEO. If you are a hungry hyper-organized and autonomous operator who thrives in the chaos of 0-to-1 environmentsand loves being the operational engine behind hard techthis is your launchpad.

You will serve as the operational backbone for a fast-moving defense and hardware team building next-generation optical and hardware systems. Youll sit right next to the CEO wearing multiple hatsfrom executive support and lab vendor logistics to facility coordination and finance operations.

There is zero hand-holding here. Youll manage 10 concurrent workstreams build processes from scratch and keep the entire company running like a clock.

What Youll Be Doing

• CEO Co-Pilot: Manage calendar travel interview scheduling and high-priority administrative tasks for the Founder/CEO.
• Lab & Hardware Operations: Manage vendor procurement purchase orders equipment deliveries cleanroom/lab inventory and supplier tracking.
• Workplace & Facilities: Own daily workplace logistics inventory food operations and facility management for an on-site hardware team.
• Finance & Accounting Liaison: Coordinate with external accounting firms on monthly close expense tracking and invoice reconciliation.
• Rapid Context-Switching: Seamlessly bounce between recruiting coordination insurance management vendor research and operational problem-solving.

What Were Looking For

• 3 Years of Operations Experience: Background in startup ops executive assistant roles office management or business ops inside a fast-paced environment.
• Hardware / Aerospace / Defense Exposure: Experience or strong interest in hardware aerospace defense or high-tech lab environments.
• Education: Degree in Operations Business Industrial Engineering or related fields preferred.
• Tech Stack Proficiency: Master of Google Workspace spreadsheets Slack and expense/travel platforms.
• Workstyle: High autonomy incredible attention to detail and a bias for action. You love hands-on execution over slide decks.

The Role at a Glance

Location: Hawthorne CA (100% On-Site 5 Days/Week)

Compensation: up to $120000 Base Salary

Experience: 3 Years (Early-Career Startup Operations / Executive Support)

Interested or Know Someone Who Fits

Drop me a direct message on LinkedIn or email your resume confidentially to to start the conversation!

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